Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[xMissxZoiex]

Hey ladies,

I gave birth to my little boy Leo on the 1st of feb doctors said due to incompetent cervix, my membranes passed through my cervix two days before he was born doctors refused to try and put my waters back in my cervix and give be a cerclage because he wasn't 24 weeks. He died anyway so I'll never know if he could have been saved.

I have a few questions about cerclage if anyone knows the answers I'd be grateful. Although I don't know if we will have another pregnancy (Leo was a IVF baby, DH has very low motility and natural conception is extremely unlikely) if we do manage to find the money for another cycle of IVF I'd like to be prepared, just in case.

Has anyone had success with cerclage after a loss?

What are the chances of it failing?, I would rather not have another pregnancy than have to bury another child.

Does the cerclage have long term effect on your cervix? Would there be a limit on how many pregnancies you could have with it?

Also twin risks, is the stitch less effective with twins? Our last IVF we had two embryos transfered so risked twins, only one stuck which was my Leo.

Sorry for all the questions and the long post, right now I'm not sure where my life is heading right now it's possible I have secondary postpartum haemorrhaging, I'm keeping an eye on things right now but I know some cases can end in hysterectomy.

Thanks in advance x

 

[honeyprayer]

I am so sorry for your loss

I had recurrent miscarriages and at my 20 week scan with this pregnancy, they noticed my cervix was short at 1.5 cm. Two days later, I had an appt with a high risk doctor who suggested a cerclage. Two days after that appt, I had the cerclage put in. Now I'm 35 weeks! I don't think I would have made it this far without the stitch. :/

I'm not sure about twin pregnancy, Brandy may be the best to answer that question as she's currently carrying twins and doing well

Please take care of yourself in this time of loss

 

[~Brandy~]

Hey ladies,

I gave birth to my little boy Leo on the 1st of feb doctors said due to incompetent cervix, my membranes passed through my cervix two days before he was born doctors refused to try and put my waters back in my cervix and give be a cerclage because he wasn't 24 weeks. He died anyway so I'll never know if he could have been saved.

I have a few questions about cerclage if anyone knows the answers I'd be grateful. Although I don't know if we will have another pregnancy (Leo was a IVF baby, DH has very low motility and natural conception is extremely unlikely) if we do manage to find the money for another cycle of IVF I'd like to be prepared, just in case.

Has anyone had success with cerclage after a loss?

What are the chances of it failing?, I would rather not have another pregnancy than have to bury another child.

Does the cerclage have long term effect on your cervix? Would there be a limit on how many pregnancies you could have with it?

Also twin risks, is the stitch less effective with twins? Our last IVF we had two embryos transfered so risked twins, only one stuck which was my Leo.

Sorry for all the questions and the long post, right now I'm not sure where my life is heading right now it's possible I have secondary postpartum haemorrhaging, I'm keeping an eye on things right now but I know some cases can end in hysterectomy.

Thanks in advance x

First and foremost I am so sorry for your loss. The feeling is absolutely indescribable when you lose a baby. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family.
To answer your questions:
Has anyone had success with cerclage after a loss?
I have not seen on this thread a failed cerclage after a loss during my time on it. However, I have not read through all of the posts though. I have been on this cerclage thread for 5 months so far. Most of the people on this thread are here because they now have a cerclage due to a previous loss so they are a wealth of knowledge.

What are the chances of it failing?
This is very dependent on the reasons for the cerclage and the protocol your doctor has you on. This I couldn’t answer I am sorry.

Does the cerclage have long term effect on your cervix?
I was told if I had a cerclage for this pregnancy I would most likely need to have one again. If you have suffered a loss that is due to IC I couldn’t imagine not having one placed again for the next pregnancy as a precaution. The success rates are much higher for those that have a planned cerclage vs those that have a rescue cerclage. I do not believe that there is technically any damage to the cervix that will affect your everyday life post pregnancy other than possibly a small amount of scar tissue.
Would there be a limit on how many pregnancies you could have with it?
My doctors told me that there isn’t a limit to the # of pregnancies.

Also twin risks, is the stitch less effective with twins?
This is actually up for debate within the medical community. Some doctors are against cerclages for twin pregnancies and most are not. I really don’t think there is enough research on twin pregnancies and cerclages. However, I consider myself a success story for twin pregnancy cerclages… I am 33W right now and my cervix is closed and even if it were to give now I would deliver healthy babies most likely with minimal intervention of the NICU team.

So just my story in a nutshell because every single one of us on here have a different scenario. I am 33W pregnant with IVF Twins. My pregnancy was perfect until 15w6d…. I felt pressure down there and was concerned. I went to the doctor and found that my cervix had shortened and that I was funneling internally… According to the doctors I was about to lose the babies. I was put in an reversed incline position for 24 hours to get the pressure off the cervix and then taken to the OR for a cerclage placement. I was in the hospital for 3 days and released. I was initially allowed to return to standard work since I had an office job. At 19W I was still feeling a small amount of pressure so the doctors took me out of work and put me on modified bed rest. I had to only get up for a short time and when I would feel pressure I would need to lay right back down. So generally I wasn’t up for more than 1-2 hours at a time with 1-2 hours of laying down afterwards. Just this last week I was told that I could be freed from the bed and do as I pleased! Other than the horrible pelvic pain I have (Just a standard pregnancy pain) I am doing great… I don’t have any pressure on the cervix nor does it feel like the babies are going to come through the cervix anytime soon.
So essentially my cerclage was considered a rescue cerclage. If I were to ever get pregnant again which I doubt since I am 38 years old and I had to do IVF then I would request that a cerclage be placed at the first possible moment as a preemptive measure. Depending on the doctor they are done around 12-14W.

 

[xMissxZoiex]

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to my questions.

I have an appointment with my consultant on 21st so I will make sure I know their policy with twin cerclage, I don't see why it would make a difference but I want to be 100% sure they will do it if we end up with a twin pregnancy.

Congrats on getting to 33 weeks

Xx

 

[BabyMaybe917]

Hey ladies,

I gave birth to my little boy Leo on the 1st of feb doctors said due to incompetent cervix, my membranes passed through my cervix two days before he was born doctors refused to try and put my waters back in my cervix and give be a cerclage because he wasn't 24 weeks. He died anyway so I'll never know if he could have been saved.

I have a few questions about cerclage if anyone knows the answers I'd be grateful. Although I don't know if we will have another pregnancy (Leo was a IVF baby, DH has very low motility and natural conception is extremely unlikely) if we do manage to find the money for another cycle of IVF I'd like to be prepared, just in case.

Has anyone had success with cerclage after a loss?

What are the chances of it failing?, I would rather not have another pregnancy than have to bury another child.

Does the cerclage have long term effect on your cervix? Would there be a limit on how many pregnancies you could have with it?

Also twin risks, is the stitch less effective with twins? Our last IVF we had two embryos transfered so risked twins, only one stuck which was my Leo.

Sorry for all the questions and the long post, right now I'm not sure where my life is heading right now it's possible I have secondary postpartum haemorrhaging, I'm keeping an eye on things right now but I know some cases can end in hysterectomy.

Thanks in advance x

I can't answer any of these questions as this is my first bout with IC. I just wanted to offer No parent should ever have to go through the loss of a child at any stage.


As for everyone else I haven't been posting but I have been reading. Congrats on the delivery Mills and for those still hanging in there know you ladies give me so much hope!

AFM I've made it past v-day!!! Only to call the after hours line that night. My last check my cervix was at 1.1 cm pessary still holding in place and complete bedrest still. Well the other night the pessary felt different when I placed my prometrium and I'd been having some sharp pains. They had me come in to be checked out yesterday. It turns out my cervix has just moved up higher and they think Ellie's weight is less on my cervix and more on my pelvis now. Still on bedrest but I can at least sit up for about 15 minutes here and there during the day! I go back next week and I'm going to try and get approval to go to the store (in a wheelchair) and complete our baby registry if they feel I'm stable enough. We also did the steroid injections one at 24w and the 2nd at 24w1d just in case she makes an early appearance. The dr said even though things look good there is just no guarantee if she'll come this week or 2 months from now.

 

[~Brandy~]

Hi Babymaybe Have you looked at theregistry.com ? you can surf the internet and add anything to your registry from any store without leaving the house... Thats what I did and it worked out fantastic.

 

[BabyMaybe917]

I can't get theregistry.com to pull up anything. I've just started a registry at Walmart as it's the easiest and cheapest around here. I have alot of people invited to the shower that dint use the Internet so is easier for that too. I've found a lot of stuff online but some items need to be picked out in the store based on what ours carries.

 

[~Brandy~]

I can't get theregistry.com to pull up anything. I've just started a registry at Walmart as it's the easiest and cheapest around here. I have alot of people invited to the shower that dint use the Internet so is easier for that too. I've found a lot of stuff online but some items need to be picked out in the store based on what ours carries.

Oh! That was my typo sorry MYRegistry.com

 

[shanny]

Has anyone had success with cerclage after a loss?

What are the chances of it failing?, I would rather not have another pregnancy than have to bury another child.



This was me........

I lost my first at 33

have since had four successful stitches and pregnancies

the first after the loss was an anxious time but I had great mw and consultant support

 

[honeyprayer]

My stitch is being taken out timorrow :/ wish me luck!

 

[mybabyluv3]

Everything will be fine, Honey. Will be thinking of you.

 

[BabyMaybe917]

My stitch is being taken out timorrow :/ wish me luck!

Good luck!

 

[honeyprayer]

Thanks ladies. It's out! OMG it was painful. The removal of the stitch itself wasn't bad, it was the speculum that was pure torture so glad it's over!

 

[~Brandy~]

Honey that's so exciting! Another successful cerclage

 

[honeyprayer]

Thank you!

Dr thinks I'll make it at least another week so I guess the waiting game begins

 

[sharan]

Oh my! I've got my stitch removal tomorrow. As I've got a Macdonald stitch I will be having no pain relief. Not looking forward to that!

I really hope baby doesn't keep me waiting for too long after it's removed. I'm so ready for him to get here now.

 

[~Brandy~]

Sharan and honey fantastic! Mine is still in but it comes out any time if I go into labor or at 36 weeks.

 

[sharan]

I can't believe we've made it this far. I remember ever so vividly those few scary weeks but they also seem such a long time ago too.

Well done ladies for getting here x

 

[~Brandy~]

I know it's so exciting Sharan

 

[sharan]

Stitch is out and ouch was that uncomfortable! I tried to brave it and just breathe through it but ended up giving in to gas and air.

I'm currently hooked up to a ctg machine monitoring baby and all seems well. The registrar who took out the stitch said I'm currently 1cm dilated and is hopefully that I should go into natural labour without any interventions; I'm hoping for a VBAC this time round.

So now baby's eviction notice has been served and he has 21-28 days to vacate his current premises!

Thank you to all the ladies here who have made this journey so bearable. You guys have been such an amazing support in this pregnancy and also in my last one xx